Nearing the end of two jubilant days of praise for Our Lady of Guadalupe, Deacon Rene Zayas reflected on the role the Blessed Mother has played in his own life, including the past 13 at Camden’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
“I’ve always had a devotion to Mary,” he said Dec. 12 as he stepped outside Cathedral Hall, where hundreds of Catholics of all generations were singing and dancing in honor of the Patroness of the Americas. “Tonight, I asked her to increase my faith, and help me to serve this community, which is my family.”
Earlier in the evening, Deacon Zayas joined Bishop Dennis Sullivan; Father Adam Cichoski, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and Father Stephen Robbins, parochial vicar, on the altar for an evening Mass to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Along with the hundreds in the pews, Deacon Zayas and the clergy came to remember the Blessed Mother’s promises to the humble Juan Diego five centuries ago in Mexico: “Let not your heart be troubled; do not fear… disease or anguish. Am I not here? Am I not your mother? Are you not under my protection?”
During Our Lady of Guadalupe vigil and feast day gatherings Dec. 11-12, the Cathedral and numerous parish communities from across the Diocese of Camden celebrated Mary through joyful processions, colorful outfits, solemn rosary prayers and constant cries of “Viva la Virgen!”
“The message of Guadalupe is a message of evangelization, a message of hope that we’ll find that common ground, we’ll find the things we need, in Christ; he’ll lead us to greater things,” Father Cichoski said.
Evangelization was a message in the Bishop’s homily, too, as he called on those gathered to “continue to share our faith not only with our families, but the people around us.”
Our Lady of Guadalupe’s appearance to the simple peasant Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill on Dec. 12, 1531, and using him as the vessel for her hopeful message to the world, proves that she can transform any heart, said Mariannie Zayas, the Cathedral’s director of parish services and daughter of Deacon Zayas, who as a member of the parish choir, helped lead the faithful in song during Mass.
“Juan Diego was a nobody, and Mary made him a somebody,” she said.
These fervent devotions to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Zayas said, only “amplifies our relationship with Christ because she leads us to her son.”
She also expressed thanks to Bishop Sullivan, who preaching in Spanish, urged the faithful to bring their “needs, worries, dreams, desires, joys and tears to Our Mother, who listens to us. Our Mother and protector.”
“It’s nice to have the Bishop’s blessing on such an important day. It means a lot to people that he’s here to support us in prayer,” Zayas said.
Although Our Lady of Guadalupe originated in Mexico, the icon has also meant much to Hispanic Catholics of other backgrounds, such as Dominicans, Ecuadorians and Puerto Ricans, who were present in Camden, all celebrating in union.
At the Diocese’s namesake parish shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lindenwold, a Dec. 12 Mass made “all aware of the powerful love that emanated from Our Lady when she appeared to Juan Diego,” noted Stephanie Greco, volunteer director of shrine services.
Already a huge celebration for the parish’s Spanish-speaking community, this year’s Guadalupe festivities included special encouragement for English-speaking families to attend. During the evening’s liturgy, Father Rene Canales, pastor, led all in a meditation focused on the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the humility of Saint Juan Diego.
“It’s vital that our English-speaking children develop the kind of relationship with Our Lady that the Hispanic children have right from the start. The Blessed Mother lives in the love of her son, and we all need to be part of that holy family,” Greco said.
Maggie Chester, a member of the parish Faith Formation Program, felt energized by the liturgy with Father Rene Canales, parish pastor, who through song, educated the young Church on Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Mother of the Americas. Her visitation was for all of us … and should unite us as Catholics,” she said. “Our Lady’s message was the same for all of us: to accept her love as well as God’s love.”
For those who don’t know about Our Lady of Guadalupe, Chester said, “I would tell people to read about her visitation and see how even those of us considered poor and humble are still worthy of the love of God and the love of the Blessed Mother.”
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